Handle and latch construction



J. P. WIED HANDLE AND LATCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 25, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v D D fdflrllll 'iffdflr" INVENTOR P W/ED Dec. 8, 1942.

Dec. 8, 1942. J. P. WIED HANDLE AND LATCH CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 25-, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. UL IUS F W/ED Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNITED STATES ATEN OFFICE v 2,304,745 p i HANDLE AND LATCH CONSTRUCTION Julius P. Wied, East Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Apex Electrical Manufacturing'Company, v Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application February 25, 1 941, Serial No. 380,514

v 3 Claims.

This invention relates toimprovements in handle construction and more particularly to impr'ovements in handles adapted for use on suction cleaners.

It is among the objects of'my invention to provide a handle adapted to be pivotally mounted on the cleaner body with spring means adjacent the pivot acting to swingthe handle to an upright position.

'It is .a further object of my invention to'provide a handle constructed according to themeceding object with a sliding latch to limit the arc of movement, of the handle with respect to the body.

' Itis a further ob'jectof my invention to proe vide a handle construction according to the preceding objects in which the-sliding latch may be actuated by a foot-operated release adjacent the handle pivot or by a hand-operated release remote from the handle'pivot;

Further objects and advantages relating to simplicity in construction, ease of manipulation and economies in manufacture will appear from the following description and the appended drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevation with parts in section of a cleaner handle made according to my invention; l

Figure 2 is an elevation with parts in section showing a foot-operated form of the device;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines indicated at 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a modified form of the device; v

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a foot-operated latch'employed in the modified iorm;

Figure 6 is an elevation with parts broken away of the species shown in Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is an elevation taken at right angles to the view of Figure 5 showing the casting at 1e lower end of the handle.

Generally speaking I have obtained the advan--' tages and achieved the objects above set forth by pivoting a tubular handle to a bracket carried by the cleaner body, arranging a coil spring about the pivot so as to swing the handle to an upright position and providing the handle with a longitudinally sliding latch adapted to engage portions of the bracket.

More specifically, my invention comprises a U- shaped bracket 6 riveted or otherwise secured to the cleaner body I, said bracket provided with a pivot pin 8 adapted to extend transversely through the spaced vertical sides of the U-shaped bracket. The pivot pin 8 rotatably secures the handle indicated in its entirety as at 9 to the bracket. The handle includes a casting Ill at its lower end, having secured thereto as at 'I I a metal tube l2 which terminates in a handle grip portion l3. The portion In is shaped by die casting or by machining therein opposed grooves [4 adapted tovslidably receive the latch member l5.

' The lower end of the latch member is proportioned to span the distance between the vertical edges of the sides of the bracket 6 and said vertical edges are notched as at H, l8 and I9 to provid limits for the pivotal movement of the handle. The collar or spool 20 is arranged on the pivot pin 8 andjthis spool 20 is surrounded by a coil spring 2L One end of the coil spring as at 22 is arranged to bear against the inner wall of the casting lb and the other end of the spring as at 23 is arranged to bear against the bight portion of the U-shaped bracket 6.

The spring is suitably tensioned in the position shown so that it urges the handle to an upright position where the latch l5 may enter the notch ll of the bracket. v

In the preferred form of my invention, a latch rod 25 extends downwardly within the tubular handle and is provided with a hook 26 at its lower end to engage the sliding latch l5. The upper end of the rod 25 is pivoted as at 21 to a hand-operated lever 28 suitably pivoted as at 29 within the tubular handle. A tension spring 29 is hooked to the'sliding latch member at one end and to a bossv 3!] within th casting In atthe other end, so as toconstantly urge the latch l5 into engagement with one of the notches l1, I8 or H). This construction provides that the latch may be conveniently operated by the user of the cleaner with that hand which is used to move the cleaner about the floor. The vertical position of the handle; that is, when the latch l5 engages the notch I! is provided to maintain the handle p in position for convenient carrying of the cleaner. The normal operating position of the handle is the angle of the handle with respect to the cleaner body provided when the latch I5 is in the notch It. The extreme position of the handle when the latch is in notch I9 is provided for manipulating the cleaner under chairs, beds and the like. The coil spring 2| is constructed and arranged so as to substantially counter-balance the weight of the handle, with the result that whenever the latch I5 is released from the bracket 6, the handle moves to its vertical position without any appreciable manual effort on the part of the operator. v

The handle latch made according to my inventhe latch from the bracket 6, r g It will be observed that most of the handle tion is well suited for foot operation and to carry out this method of releasing the latch, the sliding' latch member I5 is apertured'as at 33 to receive an arm 34 fixed to a transverse pin 35 which is provided with a foot-operated pedal 36. The pin 35 is journaled for free rotating movement in the'casting I and movement of the pedal 36 in a clockwise direction (Figure 2) will effect a movement of the latch member l upwardly against the tension of spring 29 so as to release parts employed in the hand-operated and the respond functionally to, the three positions described in connection with the preferred embodimentn 7 g Although I have described two forms of my invention, both of which are suited to hand or foot latch operation, in considerable detail, it will 3 be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made therein without departing from the scopeof the invention as V defined in the'following claims.

I claim:

1. In a suction'cleaner, a body, a handle,piv-- oted onsa'id body, locking segment means rigidly foot-operated forms of the device are identical and thus my construction permits unusal economies in manufacture where it is desirable to provide cleaners with two different types of handle release operation. r i In the modified form of my invention illus: V

trated in Figures 4 to 7, inclusive, the cleaner body indicated at'4fl is providedwith upstanding bracketears 4! which pivotally support the handle/indicated in its entiretyas'at 42. The caste ing' 43 at the lower end of the handle is shaped to provide a longitudinally extendinggroove 44 to mount a sliding latch member 45. A stem 46 formed on the latch member extends through an aperture 4'! in'the casting and a coil spring 48' surrounds the stem ,46 in that'portion of the stemfbetween the'body of the latch member and thenpper wall of the chamber housing the latch member. i c I The above described arrangement is such that the member-'55 is urged longitudinally into engagement'with notches 55, 5| and 52 formed in the'bracket 4!. The pivot pin 53 is surrounded by a coi1"sprii1g having ends 54 and 55 disposed to urge the handle to its vertical position such as shown in Figured:

The modification shown in Figures 4 to 7 is suited to handoperation' and this method of operating the latch 45 is illustrated in Figure 4 wherein a longitudinally extending latch rod 56 is secured as at, 5'lfto1, the stem 48 of the latch member. 7 The rod 56 may be operated by a lever near theigrip portion of the handle, substantially asishown anddescribed in connection with the preferred embodiment. a

To obt'ain:a' foot operation ofthe latch member a5, a T-s'haped slotBll is formed in the side ofrthe casting 4s and a foot-operated pedal at mounted on said body, locking detent means movable withgsaid handle and slidably mounted thereon ingroovestherein at the lower end thereof adjacent the pivotal axis of said handle for Tengagement with said segment means, foot-op'-' erated means for actuating said detent means for removable engagement, with said segment;

means and spring means connected tosaid body and to-saidhandle on opposite sides'ofvthepivotal axis of the latter for counter-balancingthe weight of said handle.

2. In a suction cleaner, a body; a handle. pivoted on said body, locking segment means rigid-j ly mounted on said body, locking detent; means movable with said handleand slidablyzmounted thereon above the pivotal axis of said handle I for engagement withsaid segment means, foot 7 operated means for actuating said detent means 'for removable engagement withsaid segment means comprising a, rotatable pin extending through said handle adjacent said locking detent means, a portion of the pin projecting beyond the wall of the handle and a foot pedal secured to said portion, an'arm carried by said-pin within the handle operatively connected to said locking detent means and spring means connected to said body and to said handle adjacent the pivotalaxis of the latter for counter-balancingrthe weight of said handle, I I

3. In a suction cleaner, aibody, a 'handle piymw oted on said b0dy,;;locking'segment means rigidly mounted on said body, locking detent means movable with said handle and slidably mounted thereon above the pivotal axis of said handle for engagement with said segment means, footoperated means for actuating said detent means for removable engagementwith said segment means comprisinga rotatable pin extending I "through saidhandle: adjacent said locking detent means, a portion of thepin projectingbe yond the outline of the handle, a foot pedal secured to said portion, and an arm carried by said pin within the handle operatively connected to saidlocking detent means. I

,JULIUS P. Winn. 

